Redknapped

The term redknapped is now a metaphor for a situation where faced with several juicy options a person dithers purposely, and eventually gets nothing.

Such is the case with Harry Redknapp. For weeks Redknapp relied on the press to state his position and never really took things into his own hands. He kept kicking the can down the road.

He had a great job at Tottenham Hotspur but he took his eye off the ball when the media suggested that he could simultaneously be the manager of England.

Harry believed the media hype. He never denied that he wanted to leave his job to be the England manager.

Harry may be forgiven for not being the most learned manager in the Premiership but his superiors did not like being played in the media day after day.

His boss Daniel Levy was unimpressed by his inaction. As a result of the daily press saga, Tottenham lost game after game. At the end of the season they needed just a couple of points more to qualify for the Champion League, or they had to rely on Barcelona who did not read the script.

Redknapp wanted to have his cake and eat it.
He flew too close to the sun.
He was the dog who saw the bone in a reflected pool.

All these metaphors are apt. However, Harry now has a chance to join a new club, rebuild his career, and prove how good he is. Only this time he should concentrate on the club and fans who pay him millions.

The FA may not have got the best man for the England job when the appointed Roy Hodgson but they avoided the scenario where someone could tell them how he wanted to run the national team.

Let’s hope that this was a lesson for the Spurs players as well. They should take from this, that no one is indispensable.